Accidents mentioned
In the mini series that followed 'The Midlander', some real life railway accidents and disasters are mentioned by the characters. 1977 Granville Railway Disaster (Australia's worst rail disaster) The 1977 Granville Railway Disaster is a major derailment and bridge collapse at Granville, NSW, Australia. It remains the worst rail disaster in Australia's history. This was a year after the Public Transport Commission (PTC) ended steam. Events before disaster (morning of Jan 18th) January 18th, 1977, started out a normal day for people that lived in Western Sydney. Many take the 609 intercity service that left Mount Victoria station at 6:09am. By the time the train left Parramatta (bound non-stop for Central), it was running late and the train had to speed up to make up lost time. The train was headed on the day by NSWGR 46 class electric locomotive No. 4620, which has had a bad luck streak. Disaster At the moment No. 4620 (speeding at 80km/h aka 50mph) sped into Lead 73 at Granville, the following started. * 8:10am: No. 4620's front bogie wheels derail. * 8:11am: No. 4620 knocks down the supports for the Bold Street Bridge. * No. 4620, now on its side, and carriage 1 rams into a power pole. Eight are dead. * Few minutes after stopping, the Bold Street Bridge collapses on top of carriages 3 and 4. Most of carriage 3 and half of carriage 4 are crushed, but the passengers in these section are spared by their seats. * Bystanders race in to help before authorities arrive. Rescue efforts Shortly after the bridge collapsed, emergency services from around the Sydney Metropolitan area race towards Granville. Railway workers are called in to help the authorities and rescue crews to bring people out of the crushed wooden carriages. The amount of sirens heard on that date earned it the nickname "The Day of Sirens" by a few people. An LPG cannister (Carriage 3) was removed from the deep under the remains of the bridge before heavy equipment could operate. The final toll for the Granville Railway Disaster was 84 dead and 213 injured. Investigations into disaster An investigation into the Granville disaster only blamed the condition of the ancient rails to be the only cause for the disaster. Another investigation by Boris Osman revealed that No. 4620's L6 wheel on the front was worn out and a direct cause of the disaster, thanks to him getting access to No. 4620 before the PTC scrapped the locomotive that year. The report by Osman lead to better safety rules when it came to maintenance of locomotives and any locomotive with worn out parts. Mention in the mini series The Granville Disaster was mentioned by Clyde, a NSWGR ©30T class 4-6-0 that arrived on the MSR in a still operational condition in 1977. He was going to leave Sydney on January 18th when he heard about the disaster at Port Botany. Clyde insisted to stay for one month after the disaster until he felt like he was ready for shipment to the UK. Clyde also mentions the Granville Disaster when a new electric locomotive built by Metropolitan-Vickers (BR Class 82) arrived on the railway one the same date ten years after the disaster (January 18th, 1987). This was because No. 4620 was built by Metropolitan-Vickers. 1957 Welwyn Garden rail crash The Welwyn Garden rail crash of 1957 was a rear-on collision by two trains at Welwyn Garden, the scene of a similar accident in 1935. This accident was a simple case of human error in bad weather. Events before disaster In early 1957Category:Real life